Jimmy Dimora federal racketeering trial: County worker says she didn't know about contractor work at Dimora's home

Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerWilliam and Andrea Whitaker, the father-daughter team representing former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora in his federal racketeering trial, arrive for court this morning.

AKRON, Ohio -- The first witness in Jimmy Dimora's defense against three dozen federal charges was a Cuyahoga County employee who testified that she did not know that private contractors were doing work for free at the former Cuyahoga County commissioner's home.

Deborah Shaw works as a space planner for the county, a job that requires her to coordinate real estate holdings and perform specification writings for leases.

Shaw told Dimora defense attorneys that she had also formerly worked for Drake Construction.

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Pumper has already testified in the trial and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors after pleading guilty to bribery, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI on July 17, 2009.

Shaw said she does not know Dimora besides seeing him at a few public events on two occasions.

When asked by prosecutors this morning whether she knew Pumper had provided free work at Dimora's home, she said, "Had I known about it I probably would have been a little uncomfortable dealing with D-A-S."

Jury members returned to court about 9:30 a.m. this morning after a four-day break. It did not appear that U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi officially ruled on a motion for more time to prepare filed Monday by the father-daughter defense team of William and Andrea Whitaker. She did not address it in open court this morning, but the matter appeared a moot point as the trial continued.